In a first-ever move in the past nine years after the formation of Telangana state, the state government has issued an order making it mandatory for all hotels, restaurants, fast-food centres, and street food vendors, under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, to provide purified water for free and packaged bottled water at MRP.
In a notification issued by Arvind Kumar, Special Principal Secretary to the Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, the administration has asked eateries to supply purified drinking water from Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) or Reverse Osmosis (RO) to customers free of cost with immediate effect.
The Special Principal Secretary also instructed GHMC officials to take action against defaulters on a war footing basis.
Although this type of initiative has been introduced long back and confined to papers, the government brought it to light after a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) complained that restaurants under GHMC limits were selling drinking water bottles at high rates with various brand names.
The people from the twin cities have expressed their happiness after knowing that the government has ordered a free drinking water supply at all types of eateries.
Talking to news News18, A local Venu Gopal, while sipping tea at a roadside shop near Paradise Circle, said that the government had made a good decision.
“I came here in the morning to have a cup of tea which costs Rs.10, but the cost of the water bottle is Rs.20. One can feel it’s crazy. It is the responsibility of the eateries to supply drinking water to the customers free of cost. Let us see if they change with recent government orders,” he said.
Janardhan, another resident after breakfast with his family at a restaurant, said some eateries are still charging extra for water. “We paid the bill of Rs.300, including the water bottles which cost Rs.75,” he said.
“When we asked them to give normal water, they are supplying borewell water which no one can dare to take. As there is no option in the near sight, we are forced to purchase the water bottles,” added Janardha.
He also lamented that in some of the restaurants, they have been supplying imitated water bottles instead of branded water bottles.
Talking to News18, Praveen, a B.tech student who was eating biryani at a restaurant said, “They (the servers) refused to supply ordinary water and charged Rs 65 on each water bottle on the name of the premier water bottle. This is nothing but looting us,” he lamented. The Hyderabadis have been requesting the concerned authorities to strictly implement the order without fail.”
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